In a conversation with a show panel about the country’s debt and credit downgrade, MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan passionately calls both the Democratic and Republican economic plans, “reckless, irresponsible and stupid.”

The following day Dylan Ratigan explained his tirade:

Dylan Ratigan is now attempting to ‘build a digital wave‘ to get the money out of politics. Yesterday he announced the formation of a petition to get money out of our political system, and a draft amendment to the Constitution that will do it.

Until we get money out we can’t address the corrupt structures that prevail over health, energy, education, defense, trade and banking. And until we do that we will suffer massive poverty, resource loss, anger and frustration. But we can harness all of that to alter the structure through simple singular focus, modern and traditional media, the web and our own personal resolve.

Ratigan has some good ideas and speaks the truth against both parties. One thing that he ignored in his excellent rant is the Citizens United decision. But he hit the nail on the head when he said members of congress won’t do the right things to repair our country because they will as Ratigan said, get fired due to the loss of campaign money from their corporate overlords.

The goal of our corporate overlords seems to be to turn the US into a third world nation. It would be easier to have the US mirror China, India, Mexico, etc, etc, in regards to wages, labor rights, regulations against pollution, etc, etc then to have the rest of the industrial world mirror us.

I’m still waiting for some idiot on the right to try and convince the right wing base by saying in order for the US to remain competitive in the global economy, we must drastically cut wages.

Something that you don’t hear anymore from the right wing pundits on the radio is how “we are a global economy now and of course some American jobs will hae to be lost.” But I heard that a lot during the Bush administration. I guess it worked, too. Because 50,000 factories closed in the United States and with them they took over 2 million jobs overseas.

“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Consitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office.”

While it says “campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind” it does not say “campaign contributions to any type of campaign for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind” which means campaign contributions to the Swift Boat Veterans, for example, will still be considered speech. That means the part that says “No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed … to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office.” will be stricken as violative of the First Amendment.

If this was vetted through a Constitutional lawyer, he or she missed a huge loophole, one big enough to drive Citizens United right through.

I got the impression that Dillon wants input into the wording. Did you go the website that he mentioned and present this loophole? Legal terms can be very tricky. It can take me days to decipher a legal document. Actually, as written, it is too wordy and needs to be simplified. I signed the petition anyway because it is a move in the right direction.

••••••••••••••••••••••••
If you’re a doctor who has just one patient who’s of highly questionable health and he’s paying you $150K a MONTH and you admit in a panic, while attending to him, that you don’t know CPR and that patient dies, shouldn’t the District Attorney add a charge of robbery to murder? The Doc is doomed.

Those interested in the Wall Street protests should make it a point to watch the two segments from last nights Lawrence O’Donnell’s The Last Word which feature Michael Moore on the scene in New York with the protesters. Moore may well be about the same physical size of Chris Christie but there remains on huge difference between them: Michael Moore is human.

In the San Jose case, Issa, who at the time was a 27-year-old U.S. Army officer, and William Issa, 29, were arrested by San Jose police on a felony auto-theft charge in February 1980.

They were accused of a scheme in which Issa’s brother allegedly sold Issa’s cherry-red Mercedes 240 to Smythe European Motors in San Jose for $13,000 cash and three $1,000 traveler’s checks. Within hours, Issa reported the car stolen from a lot at the Monterey airport, near his Army post at Fort Ord.

I signed too. I also popped off an email making the suggestion that BnF made.
This video just amazed me. You don’t see people doing this any more. I mean Keith Olbermann did this a lot, but he was just so blunt and so honest. It was absolutely refreshing to hear someone so angry and yelling out uncomfortable truths like that.

“The grind of a campaign may no longer appeal to her. Neither might the pay cut. I get all that. But justifying a decision not to run for president by insisting that she’s better than the process – that she’s too “rogue,” too “independent,” and too much of a “maverick” to be constrained by a campaign and the office of the presidency – is embarrassing. It also reveals, I think, a deep-seated insecurity. Ms. Palin knows full well she wouldn’t do well running for president (give her points for self-awareness), but she feels the need to try to place a cloak of virtue around herself to explain it,” – Pete Wehner

For me, she was “over” when I watched her speak at the 2008 Republican convention. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing — the shallowness of her depth somehow even outscored the depth of her shallowness. Stunning. I couldn’t believe it, but it was solid evidence that John McCain had lost his mind.

Palin has realized she’s no longer relevant to the teapottier/repugnant party. (they are a fickle lot – flitting from one ‘candidate’ to another)
She let the ‘game’ go on too long. There wasn’t that much interest, yet she allowed it to fade completely by ‘teasing’ “maybe I’ll run; maybe I won’t”

She’ll be the last person on earth to know it. People who formerly were her loyal followers will laugh in her face — and she won’t know, because they’re just jealous; they will openly shun her — and she won’t know, because they’re afraid of her; her children will flee from her side and Todd will run off with a tall blonde — and she won’t know because, they just wanted her money anyway.

When she’s dying alone on her cold kitchen floor, she might flash on the fact that she’s an utter failure, just before she realizes there is no heaven, but there is a hell.

Dylan Ratigan has the right idea. And I see on the European news that the wall street protests are potentially spreading to other cities. Looks good to me.

Having a great time in Berlin. Bought a 3 day museum pass on our first day so the last 3 days were filled with audio tours and some fascinating shit that I wish I could retain for instant recall. Alas, a few pics and some notes will have to do.

Having way too many beer. Stop for a break, drink a gross (half a liter). Stop for a bite to eat, drink a gross or two. Back at the hotel, well bring some beer from the grocery store of course. The food is awesome too – may be an acquired taste though.

Going to a jazz club in 30 minutes. Probably have a beer. Oh how rough it is!!

When I get a chance I will put some photos on Picasa. May have to wait until later since the beer at noon makes for a nap at 4.

Leipzig Zoo announced that Heidi was put to sleep Wednesday after keepers had failed to successfully treat her arthritis and other maladies relating to old age, despite weeks of efforts. Heidi was three-and-a-half years old.
The zoo’s director, Jörg Junhold, said the decision had been made “in the interests of the animal.” Keepers wanted to spare her further pain and suffering, he said.

That won’t keep them from finding out anything. All it will do is stop his tweets from entering their timeline. They can still go to his page and read what he tweeted. And now that they know he’s blocking some people, I think it will only make them check it more often.

Bank of America plans on charging $5 per month debit card fee if you use it for anything other that ATMs. They also plan to lay off more employees. Gosh ain’t it good to be a huge bank with $1 billion in profits. They’re the job creators don’t you know.

A scandal is brewing in upstate New York, where a junior varsity football team made a stop at a cemetery after a dispiriting loss. What they may or may not have done at the cemetery now has parents and administrators up in arms, even if they can’t definitively confirm what actually took place.

"I really appreciate your strong support of my campaign for the United States
Senate!

I'm running for the Senate so I can fight every day for Massachusetts families.
Our hard-working middle class families deserve someone who believes in them,
someone who is going to stand up and fight for their interests.

I've fought all my life for working families, and I've stood up to some pretty
powerful interests. Now those interests are sure to line up against our campaign
— and that's why your strong support is so critical.

………………………….NEWS ALERT…………………………..
………..BREAKING NEWS.BREAKING NEWS……………..
Today KBOT, “Entertainment news for the Oregon Coast” announced a new show that will reveal the backside of Hollywood, and its myopic view towards womens bums. To buttress this opinion, KBOT has enlisted Zooey Z. who will offer important fashion critique, as well as a soliciting comments from you, “our most important” demographic, men from the ages of 12 to 95. Please feel free to suggest, or offer ideas to Ms Zooey.

Already, Democrats in both chambers are saying a draft of the House’s Labor/Health and Human Services appropriations bill is dead on arrival,it contains deep cuts to heating assistance for the poor, requires the repeal of a major provision of the health care law that will help provide assistance for disabled people, halts implementation of the entire law until the Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of its individual insurance mandate, and slashes Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting. Just for starters.

Ms Zooey, Ms Zooey, Ms Zooey, over here please, please, please me. Thank you. I wanted to ask “will there be lotsa pics, and videos of the obvious degenerate views of womens bums, and other unspeakable parts of the female anatomy?” Thank you for your answer in advance.

Every now and then on a Saturday night, we put up a password protected post we like to call a cesspool party, wherein we cut loose a bit more than we do on our regular threads. Snack, open bar, jokes, dirty stories, clean stories, whatever strikes us.

Would you like to be added to the list so I can email you the password when the time comes? The only email I have access to is the address you used to sign onto the Zoo.

I’m going to Portland tomorrow afternoon to help my son get his apartment organized, and on Sunday we’ll meet up with my dad and his lady friend for lunch — then race back home to meet my friend from Idaho, who will be visiting for a week. I really know how to pile on!